Daily Inspiration

Treatment Won’t Cure Me?

Newly recovering sex addicts sometimes wonder why everyone (treatment centers, outpatient therapists, fellow recovering addicts) seems so adamant about going to meetings and working the 12 steps. The reason is that there is no cure for addiction (to sex or anything else). It doesn’t matter how good a treatment center is, rehab won’t permanently fix our addiction. We don’t spend 30 days in rehab and walk out the door perfectly OK. At best, we depart with an understanding of our basic issues, some useful coping skills that can help us avoid relapse, and a plan for carrying our newfound sobriety forward into the rest of our lives. And invariably that plan involves ongoing participation in 12 step recovery. Because this is what works. Experience proves it.

Just for Today: Accept that you will always be a sex addict, but you don’t always have to act like one.